Remembering the contributions of my grandfather

1998 picture with my grandfather in his Varanasi room

My father passed away when I was an infant and I grew up under the loving care and affection of my maternal grandparents.

Growing up with my grandfather created opportunities which may not have been possible otherwise. He inspired and shaped my life in many ways. Some of his teachings were direct and many were implicit in his conduct.

 

As a child I did not understand the value of most of the things he taught but enjoyed the interesting stories he told daily from various scriptures like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavatam and Puranas. 

 

Now I'm a grown up with a family, profession and responsibilities of my own. But even now I benefit from things that I can trace back to my grandfather.

I feel blessed and fortunate to have been nurtured and shaped by him and I owe a big part of the foundation of my inner life to him.

Out of the love and gratitude I feel, I'm attempting to reminisce some of the experiences with him and the contributions he made.

• He was a simple man who lived by values and principles. He was religious and spiritual and spoke less through his words and more through his conduct.

• Everyday he used to wake up by 5AM and after bath do 1008 Gayatri japam standing. He did this till his last day.

• He had many responsibilities and limited resources. Still I never saw him stressed about anything. He had faith that the higher power takes care.

• Every ekadashi he would fast and chant the Bhagavad Gita and other hymns. I got interested in Gita observing this practice of his.

• He maintained a (big red) diary which had the birthdays of all his children, their spouses and grandchildren. He would give 101 Rs (new notes in an envelope and handwritten wish) on their birthday.

• He did his profession with highest sincerity and standards. Money was never the primary thing for him. He was known for his punctuality and integrity.

• He would often give gifts as tokens of respect to others and when he did this, he would ask a child to handover the gift. When asked why, he explained - "They will learn the habit of giving if you make them give."

• After my upanayanam (thread ceremony) he taught me chanting the Vedas. I have not forgotten what he taught and still chant them.

• He introduced me to spirituality and spiritual giants of our land by sharing stories from their life - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Sri Sarada Devi, Sri Adi Shankara, Sri Ramana Maharishi, Sri Trailanga Swami and Sai Ram. I still remember the explanation of the word Paramahamsa that he told me.
  

• In the afternoon he used to read texts like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam, Puranas in original sanskrit and tell the gist of what he read as stories.

• For many years he used to conduct Bhagavata Saptaham, Ramayana Navaham, Shankara Jayanti Rudrabhisheka, Radha Kalyanam, Sita Kalyanam. These events were occasions where the whole family came together, participated and rejoiced.

• He taught me how to perform Shiva Panchayatana puja, Satyanarayana Puja and many other pujas which I continue to do even now.

• He taught me some of the lesser known upanishads (Saraswati Rahasyopanishad, Akshi upanishad) and I had mystical experiences through them.
  

•  He taught me to chant various stotras and kindled such an interest in me that I later learnt many by myself.

• He took me to Rishikesh Shivananda Ashram when he had gone there for conducting a homam. I had a beautiful experience with the head of the ashram Swami Krishnananda Teerth ji during this visit because of a mantra my grandfather had taught me prior to the visit.

• He used watch video tapes of devotional movies that revealed his devotional side. I still remember the incident where while watching the movie on Nandhanar (Shiva bhakta) my grandfather cried inconsolably with tears of devotion pouring in torrents.
  

• He once showed me a video about the pancha bhoota sthalas (temples of 5 elements) of Shiva and told me their stories. Many decades later I undertook a pilgrimage of all those places inspired by my grandpa. I believe even my visits to Jyotirlingas are inspired by what he taught me.
  

• A moving story from his life - when he was very young, his father passed away and all the ancestral property was taken over by his cousin (MV). However, whenever he talked about MV or met him, my grandfather showed utmost respect. When asked the reason for such respect he explained - "MV sat by the bedside during the last moments of my (grandfather's) father and chanted Bhagvad Gita." My grandfather felt eternally grateful to MV for this because he believed it gave mukti (liberation) to his father. I learned about the greatness of my grandfather and of Bhagavad Gita from this story.
  

It took me many years and lot of maturity to understand him. Now when I look back I feel blessed and gratitude for his presence and contributions in my life.

Truth be told: He is God for me.

Shri MLK Shastrigal